A Quality CheapoMac build for under 300 USD ~ Free Gigabyte H81M Motherboard

[trs96]

@xjasonx

There's no question that $799 Mac Mini isn't going to perform as well as a 4770K. It's just a 2.3 GHz
laptop cpu and the I7-4770K is a 3.5 GHz desktop model. The other major slowdown of the Mini is
the 5400 RPM hard drive (also for laptops) in comparison to an SSD with read/write speeds over
500 MB/s.

The newer mini with a Haswell I7 will be better but still will fall short of the 4770K for video work.
I really like the Mac Mini as well but have found that when you push the cpu for any amount of time
during HD video editing, it tends to get too hot. The small enclosure just doesn't have enough air
flow to keep the cpu cool. The new Mac Pro is small but really well designed for maximum cooling
during intensive CPU use. Problem for most is that it is priced way too far outside of their budget.

So, give a CustoMac build a try, either a budget or higher end build and see what your experience is
like. Whatever you choose it should give you much better performance than your current Core 2 Duo.

 

[ansresource]

Thanks for posting this thread.

Picked up my gigabyte h81m-h and 4340 from Microcenter, $10 for the board (and will be free once I send in rebate).

Followed the guide here step by step and had no issues. I'm waiting for the driver installation to finish in multibeast now but it at least booted up without a hitch, installed Mavericks from USB, and is displaying a beautiful usable mac desktop Will post up with any hitches I encounter but I'm pretty pleased with the price for this machine.

Gigabyte H81m-h
Intel i3-4340
WD SATA3 1tb drive
8gb Crucial DDR1600
nVidia GT610 (haven't tried the onboard hdmi and knew I needed more than one monitor set up, so added card)
Cheapo rosewill case and psu

*** EDIT ***

All going great, network and sound are working. Already installed xcode, eclipse, and arduino software so I'm ready to start using this computer at work and stop transporting my macbook to and from every day Here are the bench marks, not sure why the RAM scored better on my macbook but that's okay. I'm very pleased with the results!

and

 

[Adrian B]

Thanks for posting this thread.

Picked up my gigabyte h81m-h and 4340 from Microcenter, $10 for the board (and will be free once I send in rebate).

Followed the guide here step by step and had no issues. I'm waiting for the driver installation to finish in multibeast now but it at least booted up without a hitch, installed Mavericks from USB, and is displaying a beautiful usable mac desktop Will post up with any hitches I encounter but I'm pretty pleased with the price for this machine.

Gigabyte H81m-h
Intel i3-4340
WD SATA3 1tb drive
8gb Crucial DDR1600
nVidia GT610 (haven't tried the onboard hdmi and knew I needed more than one monitor set up, so added card)
Cheapo rosewill case and psu

*** EDIT ***

All going great, network and sound are working. Already installed xcode, eclipse, and arduino software so I'm ready to start using this computer at work and stop transporting my macbook to and from every day Here are the bench marks, not sure why the RAM scored better on my macbook but that's okay. I'm very pleased with the results!

View attachment 83416 and View attachment 83417

Excellent, thats you hooked - your going to need a machine for home now.


Enjoy
Adrian B

 

[jeffer]

The gfx card will make a bigger
difference in rendering times when you'll use a program like FCP X. Transcoding is mainly CPU dependent.

So for real time displaying of an image, it's important to have a powerful GPU? Is it more important with programs, e.g. Premiere Pro or AVID MC using AMA, because they don't transcode, but display/virtual edit the actual native files?

Can you use workstation cards, e.g. k4000? ...and would they improve a editing systems performance, compared to using a GTX-760?

Would the fact that the GTX-760 is 4GB and PCI 3.0, compared to the k4000 3GB PCI 2.0 effect rendering speed?(specifically the PCI connection)

 

[xjasonx]

@trs96

im gonna make the hour drive to microcenter now to get the original build you talked about. any ideas again for a case and powersupply? not sure what brands are good or how you found those deals but they look dead now.

also im interested in building a 2nd, that higher end i5 you mentioned looks amazing.. any idea if those prices will ever be live again? microcenter has crazy deals on intel! please tell me i didnt miss the boat.

 

[trs96]

@trs96

im gonna make the hour drive to microcenter now to get the original build you talked about. any ideas again for a case and powersupply? not sure what brands are good or how you found those deals but they look dead now.

also im interested in building a 2nd, that higher end i5 you mentioned looks amazing.. any idea if those prices will ever be live again? microcenter has crazy deals on intel! please tell me i didnt miss the boat.

You can always check the Microcenter Website and choose your nearest store from the drop
down menu to see what the available stock there is. Good idea before the 1 Hr. drive ! For a PSU
I always get Seasonic or Corsair. Usually you can get the CX-430 at a low price. For a case
the Corsair 200R would be good too. It's ATX so gives you room to grow in the future.

 

[trs96]

So for real time displaying of an image, it's important to have a powerful GPU? Is it more important with programs, e.g. Premiere Pro or AVID MC using AMA, because they don't transcode, but display/virtual edit the actual native files?

Can you use workstation cards, e.g. k4000? ...and would they improve a editing systems performance, compared to using a GTX-760?

Would the fact that the GTX-760 is 4GB and PCI 3.0, compared to the k4000 3GB PCI 2.0 effect rendering speed?(specifically the PCI connection)

It all depends on how each program is written to use the discrete graphics card. For Premiere Pro
you'd do very well with the 760. It also costs a lot less than the K4000. Some TMX86 members use
the 760 for FCP X and are happy with the performance. If you're editing video professionally then
the workstation cards would be a wise investment. The New Mac Pros use the AMD Firepro WS cards
and FCP X is fine tuned to use both in Crossfire Pro at the same time. We don't know if that will
work on a CustoMac yet but it will be some research that needs to be done this year.

 

[jeffer]

yeah, from what I've read on the forums, Crossfire and SLI can't be incorporated into HackinToshs'...is that correct?

You think the connectivity of PCI 3 to 2 would make a huge difference?

do workstation cards work on the Hackintosh?

 

[xjasonx]

now im looking at the i5 specs..

plan now is to get that i3 chip and mobo for free but also they have the GA-Z87X-UD3H on open box discount for $127.99 and i'll qualify for the $20 rebate making it $107.99. ill use the i3 chip in this board since it has much better built in video, more room for ram upgrades, and better processor support for future. sell the free mobo to take some money off.. i'll be ok!

question for you, the i3 chip and the GA-Z87X-UD3H are a good pair to save money now but leave room in the future for the i5 or i7 price to drop?

also the drivers and install should be smooth for a 100% newb?

thanks so much for your help this far, im excited to build this now!

 

[trs96]

now im looking at the i5 specs..

plan now is to get that i3 chip and mobo for free but also they have the GA-Z87X-UD3H on open box discount for $127.99 and i'll qualify for the $20 rebate making it $107.99. ill use the i3 chip in this board since it has much better built in video, more room for ram upgrades, and better processor support for future. sell the free mobo to take some money off.. i'll be ok!

question for you, the i3 chip and the GA-Z87X-UD3H are a good pair to save money now but leave room in the future for the i5 or i7 price to drop?

also the drivers and install should be smooth for a 100% newb?

thanks so much for your help this far, im excited to build this now!

If you look at ansresource's benchmarks (#14 post) for the I3-4340 it's plenty fast. They were
better in Novabench than the 2012 Macbook Pro's core I7 marks for graphics and cpu performance.

You can't over clock it on a Z87 board but it runs at 3.6GHz, so, fast for single core performance. Install with U.B. and M.Beast will be very easy. Hope you enjoy your build and sending in all those rebates too.

PS Check the returned UD3H for bent pins before buying that. Otherwise they could blame
you for damages you didn't incur.